Introduction to Poker Datamining
If you read popular poker forums like 2+2 and CardsChat, you have probably seen some fairly technical discussions about "poker datamining", and wondered how it can help you win more money. In this article I will give you an introduction to poker datamining and clear up some common misconceptions.
What is Poker Datamining?
Poker datamining is a process where you collect ("mine") hand histories ("data") from a poker room, without participating in the games yourself. After having collected the hands, you can import them in a program like Pokertracker or Holdem Manager, which will show advanced statistics on how your opponents play.
An experienced player can use these statistics to get a fairly accurate read on their opponent, before they play even a single hand against him. The reads you get by looking at statistics obviously isn't as useful as those you get by observing someone playing, but they are very useful when you play against "unknown" opponents, since they instantly let you determine the general playing style of that player.
Controversy
Some people think that poker datamining this gives a player an unfair advantage, and many poker rooms has begun making policies that restrict what you can do with the hand histories you gather from their games. It is difficult for the poker rooms to create a set of rules for datamining, since the process isn't that different from just sitting at your computer watching the game yourself. In addition many people enjoy watching high stakes games and even store hand histories with their favorite poker pros. This means that a hard crackdown on datamining would be somewhat difficult, and most poker rooms keep it as a grey area.
How to Datamine?
In order to datamine you will need a special program called a "handgrabber". A handgrabber is a small program that will run in the background and "watch" your computer for poker tables, and save hand histories from them if it finds any. Most handgrabbers cost around 50$, and enable you to datamine on 1 poker room or network.
What is Poker Datamining?
Poker datamining is a process where you collect ("mine") hand histories ("data") from a poker room, without participating in the games yourself. After having collected the hands, you can import them in a program like Pokertracker or Holdem Manager, which will show advanced statistics on how your opponents play.
An experienced player can use these statistics to get a fairly accurate read on their opponent, before they play even a single hand against him. The reads you get by looking at statistics obviously isn't as useful as those you get by observing someone playing, but they are very useful when you play against "unknown" opponents, since they instantly let you determine the general playing style of that player.
Controversy
Some people think that poker datamining this gives a player an unfair advantage, and many poker rooms has begun making policies that restrict what you can do with the hand histories you gather from their games. It is difficult for the poker rooms to create a set of rules for datamining, since the process isn't that different from just sitting at your computer watching the game yourself. In addition many people enjoy watching high stakes games and even store hand histories with their favorite poker pros. This means that a hard crackdown on datamining would be somewhat difficult, and most poker rooms keep it as a grey area.
How to Datamine?
In order to datamine you will need a special program called a "handgrabber". A handgrabber is a small program that will run in the background and "watch" your computer for poker tables, and save hand histories from them if it finds any. Most handgrabbers cost around 50$, and enable you to datamine on 1 poker room or network.
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